How a generation of animated characters spurred the imagination of today's creatives
I call male bovine feces when people say the late 60s and 1970s were gentler. The Vietnam War, the Cold War, civil discourse, Watergate, inflation, two oil embargoes, Disco, and general chaos were ongoing themes for nearly two decades. Oh, and the clothing. Good gosh almighty, baby boomers. What the heck were you thinking when coming up with some of those fashion nightmares?
Amid this turmoil, there was a patch of peace between 8 a.m. and noon every Saturday. It’s when millions of children quietly snuck down to the kitchen, filled a bowl with C'apn Crunch or similarly sugary cereal, and plopped themselves in front of the RCA console TV for hours of cartoons.
The Glories of Saturday Morning
Once upon a time, when the Earth cooled, children couldn’t watch cable networks or streaming services filled with 24 hours of animated goodness. Heck, we didn’t have DVD players or VCRs. Kids relied on a few hours of Looney Tunes and Flintstones reruns after school for sustenance. If we weren’t interested in the offerings, we were stuck.
Additionally, we didn’t have the variety of today’s entertainment-saturated world or the independence to watch on different devices. It was one television with ABC, CBS, NBC, the PBS affiliate, and a few independent channels. During the day, our moms watched game shows and soap operas. At night, dads took over to view the nightly news and whatever tickled their fancy.
It’s why we waited for Saturday mornings with high anticipation. For a few hours, the networks catered to kids. Hanna-Barbera, Filmation, and Sid & Marty Krofft Pictures churned out cheap, colorful, and imaginative fare each year. It was the only time we could tell our parents to leave us the heck alone.
The era of Saturday morning cartoons was glorious, especially from the mid-1960s to mid-1970s. We were blessed with Magilla Gorilla, Peter Potamus, Space Ghost, The Archies, Scooby-Doo, and Fat Albert, among many others. Despite the millions of brain cells lost over time, these programs, and dozens more, sparked the power of imagination in a generation of today’s creatives. It certainly did for me, especially any show featuring a superhero.
Or a mystery-solving dog.
Or an animated musical group.
Or a mystery-solving dog that was part of an animated musical group. If that wasn't available, it was a talking, mystery-solving shark that sounded like The Three Stooges Curly. One who, by the way, was also part of an animated musical group.
No, my bipolar meds aren't fuzzing my brain. I’m talking about Jabberjaw. Look it up on your Google Web.
Sure, the cartoons and live-action programs we gorged on weren’t Game of Thrones when it came to budget and production values. I offer Electra Woman and Dyna Girl as prime evidence. Still, the sheer amount of imagination these studio creatives had amazed me then and now. In turn, it encouraged me to stretch my imagination at school and in play.
Some of my pieces are influenced by those blissful Saturday morning offerings. For instance, I have a work in progress based loosely on Scooby-Doo and Mystery Inc. I mean the early-70s version, not the bastardized one with Scrappy-Doo. We despise that smug, little git.
Heck, the fact I’m writing this article about Saturday morning cartoons is a sign that era still has a place in my heart. It will continue to remain until my last dying breath when I gasp, “Rooby-Rooby-Roo” to my loved ones.
What Did We Learn Today, Rich?
Television is a wasteland. Having said that, it's also a treasure chest of ideas that go beyond a standard show’s length. We of the Saturday morning cartoon generation thank those beloved creators who gave us a brief respite from chaos to shut our brains and ignite our creative souls.
Yours always,
Rich Scott Keller
Email: wpantscreations@gmail.com
ClearVoice Portfolio: https://clearvoice.com/cv/RichardKeller
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rskellerwpp/
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